The Housing and Homelessness Committee Meeting will take place Thursday, May 24 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm at the McNail-Riley house. Regan Watjus, Homeless Policy Analyst for the City of Eugene, will join us to share information about the city’s direction in addressing homelessness and neighborhood group involvement.

On December 13, Council reviewed a set of recommendations from the Housing Policy Board (HPB) for implementation of a local Construction Excise Tax (CET) to support affordable housing. At that time, staff proposed to further explore policy options for structuring a CET, engage with stakeholders, and bring a recommendation back to Council. During this work session, staff will present options for implementing a CET.

How can we make more affordable, accessible, age-friendly housing available to more people of all ages, ability, income, and backgrounds in thriving and connected neighborhoods? Join us for an engaging morning of dialog on the future of housing, land use, and creating communities for all ages.

Learn about “Missing Middle Housing” from the man who coined the term — nationally known architect and urbanist Daniel Parolek of Opticos Design, Inc. Daniel will describe the full range of Missing Middle Housing options and trends in America’s residential landscape that often limit housing choice. Hear from local speakers on the challenges and opportunities to meeting the region’s growing need for affordable, accessible, and age-friendly housing.

Learn about critical housing policies under consideration at the Oregon legislature, including tenant protections and affordable housing development and preservation, homeownership and more.

The Mayors will co-introduce the Forum, and Daniel will facilitate a workshop and panel discussions on local and state housing issues. The agenda will move swiftly, but our hope is to support the ongoing effort to provide quality, diverse, age-friendly housing in our communities.

Please identify participants who can bring forward ideas from your individual neighborhood to attend. These events promise to be inspiring and productive opportunities for engagement.

The League of Women Voters of Lane County will be asking tough questions about housing and homelessness at their March Unit Meetings. These 1-2 hour meetings are sometimes called the “Heart of the League”. All are welcome. Members and guests meet for a member-led discussion of committee research on a current topic. League advocacy positions come from these meeting reports.

Mayor Lucy Vinis has released a webpage with links to a weekly blog, monthly recaps, and the Mayor’s Report, a real-time list of projects that council and staff are working on to track our work and progress online, providing consistent updates of where we are on important issues. Here are some highlighted issues related to housing this week.

Inclusionary Zoning

In 2016, the Oregon Legislature passed SB 1533, lifting the state preemption on Inclusionary Zoning. A Council work session on this issue is scheduled for 03.15.17. Staff Contact: Stephanie Jennings

The Rental Housing Code was created in 2005. During the Council Work session on 01.25.17, Council voted to adopt the amended code, expanding certain criteria and ended the sunset clause, making the program permanent. Council will review panel work in early 2018. Staff Contact: Rachelle Nicholas

The Vulnerable Populations Working Group (soon to be NLC Homelessness Work Group) is coordinating a meeting about tiny homes. Our group wanted to learn more about the current status of this type of housing as it relates to planning and zoning. Some of the questions we are exploring include:

Could this model help to encourage the development housing options to meet the low-income housing shortage?

Could incentivizing this approach help us to reach the goals of the Climate Recovery Ordinance?

In addition to supporting livability, sustainability, and equity issues, could allowing tiny home villages help us to reduce our need to expand the urban growth boundary?